


Though We Touched and Went our Separate Ways

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: The Heart of the Matter [10]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Drama, F/M, Friendship, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-17
Updated: 2013-03-17
Packaged: 2017-12-05 15:21:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/724786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was still sadness but Erin planned to hold her head high.  That wasn’t easy with Dave holding her hand the whole way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Though We Touched and Went our Separate Ways

“Good morning.” he spooned behind her, brushing her blonde hair aside to kiss the nape of her neck.

“Get off me.” she mumbled.

“Ouch. You usedd to be much more of a morning person than you are now.”

“I like morning but morning happens when I'm awake. I'm not awake yet so leave me alone.”

“When you're snappish like that it’s a serious turn on.”

“Dammit David…”

He gently took hold of her shoulder, moving her onto her back. Erin’s eyes were still closed but he could see the glare anyway. Dave ignored it, kissing her breathless. They didn’t kiss often and it was nice. Erin caressed his face.

“Are you through?” she asked.

“Damn…tough crowd.”

“I'm tired.” Erin turned over again. “I haven’t been getting a lot of sleep and…I'm tired.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Maybe if I wasn’t asleep I would. Please just give me another hour or so.”

Dave nodded and left her alone. He wasn’t trying to be a pain in the ass. Sometimes he was but he wasn’t this morning. It had been two and half months since Erin’s engagement ended. It hadn't been an easy summer for her. 

She pretended to be alright, and most days it actually worked. She hadn't skipped a beat at the BAU. Dave saw her stumble in a few other aspects of her life. Even though she never once asked for his help he still occasionally extended it. 

There were times she took him up on it. They would have dinner, talk on the phone…once Dave even took her hiking. Despite them also sharing a bed once in a while, the new boundaries of their relationship stopped at sex. Erin and Dave hadn't even hooked up, or whatever it was that the young people called it these days. 

It just felt good to hold someone, share their energy. Dave never asked for more than Erin wanted to give. He never asked Erin to be something that she wasn't. Eventually they'd have to talk about what they were doing. The subject wasn’t easy to broach.

Mudgie walked into the bedroom. Though it was gray and rainy outside, Dave immediately recognized the look on his dog’s face. The retriever had no intention of letting a little rain, or a lot, ruin his morning walk. Dave grumbled, throwing the sheets off and climbing out of bed.

“Don’t wake Erin.” he told him.

As if spurred on just be hearing her name, Mudgie walked over to the bed. He got really close to her face and leaned in. His wet nose grazed her cheek.

“You're no better than he is.” Erin mumbled, reaching out to pet him. No one was more shocked than she was about how well she took to the dog. “Your breath smells about the same too.”

Mudgie licked her face and Erin cringed. Dave pulled him away from the bed.

“I'm going to take him for a walk.”

“My first thought was to fumigate my face but I'm going back to sleep instead.”

Erin turned over as Dave walked out of the room. Mudgie looked at her for a moment before following his master. Thunder rumbled over the house; she threw the sheets over her head.

***

“How was your walk?” she asked when Dave and Mudgie walked into the den about 45 minutes later. Despite the humidity, Erin was curled up in Dave’s easy chair with a large cup of coffee. She wore a pair of red gingham pajama pants and one of his tank tops. His eyes were on her and Erin knew it.

“I definitely think Mudgie had a better time than I did.” He headed into the kitchen to feed him breakfast.

“Your dog licked my face earlier.” 

“He's gotten further with you than I have.”

“Oh my God, David you're so funny I forgot to laugh.”

Dave laughed from the kitchen. The sound of it made Erin smile, which she hid behind her coffee cup. He walked back into the room with a cup of his own.

“I think I should go home today.” She said.

“You don’t have to.” Dave shook his head.

“I think I do. I can't hide out here forever.”

“You're not hiding out…you're getting away for a while.”

“The last time I checked, getting away was going to Paris or Tahiti.” Erin said, sipping her coffee.

“I just don’t want you to be alone. If you want to be alone, I understand. But you should know that you don’t have to be.”

“I'm going to have to get used to it David. I'm going to have to get used to it for the rest of my life.”

“Don’t talk like that.” he dismissed the notion with a wave of the hand.

“How shall I talk then?” Erin asked.

“Look, I'm sure I’ll be out of town next week. The work never ends as you know. So you can stay here and be alone.”

“If you want me to dog sit then just ask me to dog sit.”

“Mudgie likes you more than…”

“Were you going to say your other girlfriends?” Erin raised her eyebrow and gave him that look.

Dave shook his head. He couldn’t help but smile. The cheeky side of Erin was always his favorite part. She was one of the cheekiest women that he ever met. He’d seen a lot of it lately; sure that it was defense mechanism. Still, reacting to it was natural to him.

“I just know that your kids aren’t around so the company might be nice. Being with Mudgie might even be better than being with me.”

It was the second week of August and Erin’s kids were gone. They always stayed with their father from August 1st until Labor Day. She missed them but she never wanted to prevent them from being with their father. Eli had taken them on a two week trip to Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic for a WWII history lesson. 

The kids looked forward to the trip. She’d been receiving pictures on her phone and text messages. Seeing them happy, with each other and their father, gave her some kind of happiness. They knew how disappointed and sad Erin was about her breakup with Jack. She refused to burden her kids with those feelings. 

“I would love some breakfast.” 

Changing the subject was probably the best idea. Dave gently took her coffee cup from her hands. It was nearly empty and he was sure she wanted more. He started to get off the couch.

“We could cook together.”

“I’d like to eat it.” Erin said.

“Cooking together can be fun. It can be an adventure.”

“You know what might be more fun? I’ll stay here and cuddle on the couch with the dog while you cook breakfast.” It was difficult but she managed to say it with a straight face.

“He loves you but Mudgie won't choose you over the possibility of getting bacon. Do you want more coffee?”

“Oh yes.”

Dave got up and started walking to his kitchen. He said the word bacon really loud, which made the dog’s ears perk up. Mudgie got up from the floor where he'd been sitting by Erin. He started walking to the kitchen, stopping to look at her when he was halfway across the room.

“Go on.” She said. “Its bacon; I wouldn’t want to miss my chance either.”

Mudgie turned and galloped away. Erin smiled a bit but then it faded. She really needed to go home. Getting comfortable there was a bad idea. She had all the same luxuries at her house that Dave did. 

Except that he wasn’t there. His dog wasn’t there either but that was OK because despite her newfound camaraderie with Mudgie, Erin had never been a dog person. She needed to get on with it…she was alone now. There was still sadness but Erin planned to hold her head high. That wasn’t easy with Dave holding her hand the whole way.

“Tell me what the going rate is for a week or so of dog sitting?”

Dave looked at Erin leaning on the island in his kitchen. He put a coffee cup in front of her, made just the way she liked it. Then he reached out to stroke her cheek.

“There are some who ask for exorbitant fees. You will receive free room, board, food, and my neverending gratitude.”

“I feel a bit cheated that there won't be jewelry.” Erin drank her coffee. Dave turned back to the stove where he was cooking bacon, eggs, and fried potatoes. He really was spoiling her with all the food.

“With big guns come big responsibilities.” Dave replied. “I've never been one to shoot prematurely.”

“Maybe after breakfast we can get in a little shooting practice.” She sat down on the stool. “It’s been a while…I miss your guns.”

Dave glanced back at her but made sure he was looking at the food again when he grinned. It was just sex; there was no need to make it into something it wasn’t. Erin was still in a very vulnerable place. She could pretend she wasn’t until the cows came home, she was. 

Dave wasn’t just trying to get between her knees. He cared and he worried and he had no idea why he was suddenly feeling the things he was feeling again but he was. Still, getting Erin back on her feet was the top priority. Starting some steamy affair would probably end badly for the both of them. They could probably handle some rainy Sunday sex. 

Anything more was too much right now. Who knew about the future…they were living one day at a time. It was strange how they seemed to be doing it together. Stranger things had happened in the saga of Dave and Erin. It looked like it might not be as over as they assumed it was.

***


End file.
